Chapter 49: The Ultimate Support
After flying for some time, Yu Xian returned to the skies above the mountain that Gong Qian had crashed into the day before.
On the ground, Zhang Shou and Gong Qian were glaring at each other. Descending from the sky, Yu Xian curiously eyed the pair.
Zhang Shou immediately pointed at Gong Qian. "Salted Fish, you're finally back. Talk some sense into her. She actually wants to go make things worse."
Gong Qian protested. "What do you mean by make things worse? I'm not planning to get close. I just want to see if I can break open that cage from the outside."
Yu Xian nodded before turning to Zhang Shou, curious to hear his opinion. "That actually sounds reasonable."
Zhang Shou frowned. "What if she gets poisoned again?"
The previous day had been one of the most exhausting days of his life, even more tiring than the day he died at the market. Treating Gong Qian had consumed his Healing Touch at an alarming rate. He had been forced to replenish it continuously, and one afternoon of detoxification work had been more exhausting than an entire normal day.
Although Deimos was currently locked in close-quarters combat with Jin Dajun, Zhang Shou had climbed to a higher vantage point earlier and witnessed Deimos using its tail for long-range attacks. The last thing he wanted was to spend another day detoxifying Gong Qian.
Yu Xian smiled. "You both make valid points. I have an idea. It might be worth trying."
On the way back, he had spent the entire journey mentally exploring possible applications of his new ability. Its simplest use was teleporting himself between different bubbles. But he had also thought of countless more sophisticated applications for combat.
For example, he could hurl a throwing knife into one bubble and have it emerge from another, altering its angle of attack. Or, he could combine multiple bubbles with the silver threads created by Silver Blood, forming an unpredictable, ever-shifting guillotine capable of striking from impossible angles.
Yu Xian extended his hand, rapidly materializing bubbles and guiding them forward, where they arranged themselves in a ring around Deimos's cage. He created another bubble and smiled at Gong Qian. "Throw a rock into the bubble as hard as you can."
Although puzzled, Gong Qian did as he asked. She picked up a stone and hurled it into the bubble with all her strength. A sonic boom erupted. The stone vanished into the bubble. Moments later, a loud explosion echoed from the distance.
Both Zhang Shou and Gong Qian froze. They immediately rushed to a higher vantage point and looked toward the source of the sound. There, right in Deimos's cage, a gaping crater had appeared in the ground.
Yu Xian grinned. "First attempt. I have no experience with it, so the aim was a little off. Let's keep going."
Zhang Shou stared at Yu Xian in shock. "Salted Fish, your bubbles can do that? That's ridiculously powerful."
Gong Qian nodded. "There are only a handful of spatial abilities in the entire country, and one like his has honestly never been seen before. If headquarters finds out about this, your ranking will definitely rise."
She knew a fair amount about Yu Xian and Zhang Shou. Earlier that morning, with nothing better to do, she had reviewed the Wickedness Purging Squad's personnel files on her phone. Those files were accessible to only squad captains and above.
Yu Xian and Gong Qian continued working together. They repeatedly launched rocks into the bubbles. At first, eight out of every ten shots missed their target. But gradually their accuracy improved. Soon, nine out of every ten throws directly struck Deimos.
However, Deimos had no attention to spare for such minor harassment. Its battle with Jin Dajun had reached a fever pitch. The two were fighting with such intensity that Deimos could not afford to divert any attention toward defending against Gong Qian's attacks.
More importantly, Gong Qian was only throwing rocks. No matter how powerful she was, there was only so much damage she could unleash with a rock. At most, the rocks caused a little pain when they struck Deimos. They were nowhere near powerful enough to inflict real damage.
Gong Qian picked up another rock and sighed. "What a waste. I should've brought some proper throwing weapons."
Yu Xian picked up a stone and held it in his right hand. Then, with a casual flip of his wrist, the stone vanished. A moment later, it appeared in his left hand. He repeated the process over and over, practicing while smiling to himself. "There's no rush. I have another idea, but I need a little more practice first."
He had discovered that he could adjust the exit point of the new bubbles' teleportation. For example, with the rocks Gong Qian had thrown just moments ago, the first one had appeared dead center because Deimos wasn't within the bubble’s targeted range, resulting in a miss.
Later, after Yu Xian made some adjustments, the rocks no longer exited strictly from the center. Instead, he offset their exit points, allowing them to teleport and emerge from any position inside the bubble. This newfound flexibility sparked an idea, but he still needed to become much more proficient with the ability before he could pull it off with absolute certainty.
The duo continued attacking Deimos while Yu Xian refined his control. Half an hour later, he could freely make a rock exit the bubbles at any point with an accuracy of a perfect one hundred percent.
A grin spread across his face. "Alright. Everything's ready."
The two large bubbles in his hands dispersed. In their place, he created a large number of tiny bubbles, each only about the size of Gong Qian's fist. Guiding them with his thoughts, he sent the tiny bubbles into Deimos's Devil Cage. Although the cage could trap ordinary people, objects no larger than a fist could pass freely through the gaps in its lattice.
Numerous bubbles floated throughout the cage. Deimos noticed their presence, but Jin Dajun's relentless assault left it with no spare attention to destroy them. Besides, it simply didn't believe that a handful of bubbles could threaten it.
Yu Xian looked toward Gong Qian. "Captain Gong Qian, step before the bubble in front of you and focus on throwing your punches. Leave everything else to me."
Gong Qian had already spent the past half hour throwing rocks through the bubbles. She immediately understood what Yu Xian had in mind. A smile spread across her face. "Got it. I'll make every punch count."
Inside the Devil Cage, Jin Dajun drove a punch into Deimos's face. Deimos answered with a heavy blow to Jin Dajun's abdomen. Just as it was about to whip its tail at him, a small bubble drifted nearby. A tiny fist shot out from the bubble and landed squarely on Deimos's cheek.
Deimos's eyes instantly rolled back. The pain was unmistakably familiar. Is that brat still alive?
Before it could react, another bubble drifted into position. Gong Qian's fist shot out from the bubble and smashed into its jaw.
The first punch had already left Deimos momentarily dazed. The second struck with such force that it launched the massive Archdevil into the air. Another bubble appeared nearby, and a third punch slammed it back toward the ground. Below, another bubble was waiting for him. A punch exploded outward from the bubble, launching Deimos skyward once more.
Under the impact of tens of thousands of tons of force, fractures instantly spread through Deimos's spine. Gong Qian executed her next punch immediately, striking the top of Deimos's head. Its skull split open, producing the crisp crack that only a healthy skull could make.
Everything happened incredibly fast. In the span of a few moments, Deimos was reduced to little more than a punching bag. With Gong Qian and Yu Xian working in perfect coordination, the massive Archdevil was sent flying back and forth across the cage. The entire time, it couldn't even think about counterattacking.
Knowing that Deimos's tail was coated in deadly venom, Yu Xian carefully directed the bubbles to avoid it. Every attack targeted safer areas like the head, abdomen, and arms.
Gong Qian's devastating barrage of blows left the Archdevil's eyes rolling back into its head. Its brain buzzed from the repeated impacts, robbing it of any coherent thought. After roughly a minute of nonstop punishment, Deimos finally crashed to the ground.
Seeing an opening, Jin Dajun immediately charged forward. "Perfect!"
He leaped onto Deimos, straddled the Archdevil, and unleashed a storm of punches against its abdomen. Each blow sent violent tremors through the Archdevil, causing blood to pour nonstop from its mouth.
Neither Gong Qian nor Jin Dajun relaxed in the slightest. They continued attacking without pause. They shared the same determination. Unless Deimos was reduced to a pulp, they wouldn't stop. Their punches grew heavier and fiercer, and with every strike, their enthusiasm only increased.